Michael Review: All Style, Little Substance — But Still a Crowd-Pleaser
PLOT: The rise of Michael Jackson, from his years in the Jackson 5, through his solo breakthrough with Off the Wall, to becoming a worldwide phenomenon with Thriller.
REVIEW: There are two types of music biopics: the gritty ones that try to tell the truth about their subject (or at least some approximation of it), and the ones that simply “print the legend.” Michael is most definitely the latter, with it sticking so close to the established Jackson family mystique that it makes Bohemian Rhapsody, from the same writer/producer, look comparatively hard-hitting. Yet, the packed theater I saw this in literally had moviegoers sitting in the aisles, and its future as a box office phenomenon seems assured.
To some extent, it’s hard to fault Michael for attempting to turn Michael Jackson’s complicated life story into feel-good entertainment. Yet, the resulting film can’t help but feel like myth-making of the highest order, with it conveniently ending on a high note, avoiding any exploration of the controversial second half of the singer’s life (not that they didn’t try, with the film’s third act notoriously axed due to legal complications).
The resulting film is pretty straightforward, tackling Michael’s tough upbringing under his tyrannical father, Joe (Coleman Domingo, under heavy prosthetics), through to his breakthrough as a solo artist. Through it all, Michael—played by Juliano Krue Valdi and later Jaafar Jackson—is presented as an almost magical character, too pure and innocent for this world: a kind of real-life Peter Pan, which is the narrative the estate has always tried to sell. The first act of the movie is the most compelling, with Joe lording over the boys (none of whom get much screen time) under the looming threat of violence as he pushes them into superstardom. He’s presented as fairly villainous, with little regard for the well-being of his kids in his quest for riches, as people like Larenz Tate’s Berry Gordy and longtime bodyguard Bill Bray (KeiLyn Durrel Jones) look on with distaste. Valdi has the right innocent spark for the young MJ, who took the world by storm in the sixties, allowing the band to cross over in a huge way.
The majority of the movie’s press will no doubt be centered around Jaafar Jackson’s uncanny performance as the grown MJ. He nails the voice, mannerisms, and dance moves, even if the film never goes beyond the surface level of what’s been presented to the public to really show us what Jackson might have actually been like. Some of director Antoine Fuqua’s film can be goofy at times, such as the choice to use CGI to bring Bubbles the chimp to life, or the two-dimensional depiction of MJ’s lawyer, John Branca (Miles Teller), who also produced the movie. None of the other Jacksons are given much screen time, with Janet wholly absent. Aside from Joe—shown as a tyrant—and Katherine (Nia Long), who is portrayed as downright saintly, the family is largely sidelined.
While I’m probably making Michael sound pretty bad, here’s the thing: I actually enjoyed it. About fifty percent of the movie is dedicated to recreating the process of making and performing the music, and when they stick to that, Michael is a blast. In terms of a body of work, no matter what you think of the King of Pop, no one really touches him, so it’s a thrill to watch him put together Off the Wall or shoot Thriller.
The movie is already infamous for how it ends, with the debut of Bad in 1988, although they don’t delve into the making of that album. Rather, the climax is set during the 1984 Victory tour. It ends with the promise of a potential second movie, which presumably would explore how Bad and Dangerous came to be—if they can figure out a way to deal with the more unseemly aspects of the second half of his life. We’ll have to wait and see, but no doubt Lionsgate will be itching for a sequel, as this is going to print money.
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